they have a chance of rain down there today. not cool but kind of damp. we're looking at a cool day but a dry day across the region. windy, especially this morning in the mountains. here's a look at your day planner. you can expect sunshine. temperatures are in the 40s now in most areas and, yeah, these numbers that have been spitting out by our computer, i think they may be on the low side. i think we'll see:s potentially -- see temperatures potentially in the low to mid-50s. watching the clouds from yesterday afternoon break up. some high clouds still off to the south this morning. well south of us down toward fredricksburg and southern maryland. we have a few clouds also in the mountains. with the gusty winds still gusting to 40 miles an hour in peat usburg. -- peat usburg -- petersburg. we've upped our wind gust from

-- from 18 to 28. one of our cold spots, that's unusual at 38. let's send it over to monika samtani. she'll get you out the door with timesaver traffic. i was looking at my maps and trying to figure out where this accident is in columbia on the ramp from westbound route 32 to get on to northbound route 29. so right there in columbia. apparently it's an overturned tractor-trailer. so what you might just want to do if you're heading westbound on route 32, use 95 instead and avoid that area heading here to northbound route 29. that's where that overturned tractor-trailer sits on that ramp and you won't be able to access route 29 because of it. i will of course keep you posted on that situation. let's take a live look at the beltway. a little closer in, no problems to report here at university boulevard. as you head from the 95 interchange westbound on 495, that looks great into silver spring and bethesda. back to the maps this time over to virginia. on the inbound side of i-66 we're incident free from manassas to centreville.

we're looking good on the beltway west side of town as well and a live look outside. here's what it looks like route 50 at 495 in the annandale area. back to you. >> thank you, monika. this morning we're following breaking news out of college park, maryland. >> that's where three people were shot earlier this morning. one of them has died. >> wusa9 reporter delia goncalves joins us live from the scene. this is right near the university of maryland campus. delia, what do we know? >> reporter: we have talked to the public information officer who is here on the scene, asked several questions. we are only getting the same short statement. they are actively investigating a death investigation. that's all we're being told by police. we can tell you we're about a block away from the scene here on 36th and mezrot scene. the -- mezrot road. the scene is a block down. we were able to get a camera to the scene shortly after 1:00

a.m. we can show you that video right now to give you a closer look at what we're talking about. this is all unconfirmed reports. we're hearing this all began as i said after 1:00 a.m. with a fire of some sort. fire crews arrived, knocked out that blaze and then when police got here, they discovered three shooting victims we're told. one victim in front of the house. another victim in the rear of the house. and of course a third victim as well. however, all that information still unconfirmed at this early stage of the investigation. police on the scene indeed confirm that this is an active investigation. there are plenty of crews and detectives down a block down the road taking a look at what happened here and trying to piece together this puzzle but still very little information is being passed along to us. however, we will remain here on the scene and ask these questions and try to give you the latest information as soon as we get it. that's the very latest from college park. back to you.

>> thank you, delia goncalves. police are hoping someone is going to come forward with information on the murder of an elderly woman. prince george's county officers went door to door in capital capitol heights monday and handed out flyers with the description of a possible suspect in the death of a 71- year-old geraldine mcintyre. police found mcintyre suffering from severe upper body injuries inside her home on saturday. she was pronounced dead at the hospital. virginia's attorney general has a new book coming out today. republican ken cuccinelli is the last nine of defense claims politicians use programs like social security and medicare to trap people in the cycle of government dependency. it labels the obama administration the biggest set of lawmakers in america. cuccinelli is running for virginia governor but the book could turn off moderates and provided forker for the democrats -- fodder for the democrats hoping to regain the mansion. the july 29 beyonce concert at verizon center sold out in

just a few minutes. joyce, our floor director swore it was 20 seconds. but now another concert at verizon center. prices start at $48. it's expected to sell out quickly. 5:05. let's talk a little bit more about your money in this report this morning. >> maybe you won't spend it as quickly as beyonce tickets go. wall street hoping for a fresh start today. lots of stuff potentially to mull over. we get our earnings from the likes of coca-cola and good year. also jobs news on the agenda. stocks got off to a slow start after climbing to five-year highs. the dow stands at 13,971 after falling nearly 22 points. the nasdaq dipped about 2 and the s&p 500 was down about a point. same-sex partners of u.s. military service members will soon have access to the same

benefits offered to their heterosexual partners. defense secretary leon panetta signed off on this memo yesterday and part of it it says, as a matter of fundamental equity that we provide similar benefits to all of those men and women in uniform who serve their country. panetta says the changes should happen in the next few months. the home of the whopper is about to become the home of the latte and nine other premium coffee beverages. our partners at "u.s.a. today" report that today burger king will announce plans to upgrade their coffee offerings in a really big way. the company plans to double the number of coffee beverages that it sells to ten in a partnership with seattle's best coffee. soft drinks, coffee sales, very, very profitable. >> yes, low overhead and people think well, it's a little stronger, i can pay more for it. >> we all love our coffee. >> i'm not going to ark with you there. >> he couldn't function without it. what do you have in the next 30

minutes? >> we have the state of the union address so we're going to look at the state of the economy. how are we doing? >> we promise not to yell at you or call you any names. >> i'm not in control. if only i were. >> we wish you were. well, the white house reacts to a nuclear test by north korea. that story is coming up. >> plus, thousands of cruise ship passengers find themselves stranded without power in the middle of the gulf of mexico. >> ahead in sports, the wizards are on their biggest winning streak of the year. yes, it's hard to say but it's happening. we'll be right back with the proof.

a little breezy out there. rather mild for this time of year. lots of temperatures still in the 40s this morning. we're going to have a sunny, breezy day. at least this morning. then this afternoon the winds will relax. looking at temperatures which will be recovering after falling off a little bit more.

back in the low if not mid-50s. about 10 degrees above average. got precip moving in tomorrow. i'll give you the details in about five minutes. right now over to monika with timesaver traffic. in columbia, maryland on the westbound side of route 32 here on the ramp to northbound route 29, you can see all the equipment on the scene of an accident. we believe that it involves an overturned tractor-trailer. it looks like traffic may be able to squeeze by on the left side, although the camera is frozen right now but i have been seeing some traffic get by. in the meantime you might just want to use 95 as your alternate route coming off route 32. ail he have more details coming -- i'll have more details coming up in a few minutes. >> thank you, monika. 5:10. here's a look at what's new this morning. the white house is calling north korea's latest nuclear test a highly provocative act. the communist government said it successfully detonated a miniature nuclear device overnight. the giveaway is when a tremor

was detected centered in north korea. investigators still haven't had a chance to catch fired los angeles police officer christopher dorner. he's accused of killing three people in retaliation for being fired. reports are that dorner may possibly be in mexico and purchased some scuba gear days before the murders. police are warning people he is extremely dangerous. this is a real life vacation disaster happening in the gulf of mexico. unfortunately real people are caught in it. the disabled carnival cruise ship triumph will be towed back to a report in alabama but isn't expected to get there till thursday. another ship delivered more food and supplies but passengers are dealing without air conditioning, elevators and working toilets. >> could only see the newspaper headlines right now. triumph fames in paradise. today is the best weather pick of the week. >> howard has a dicey situation tomorrow followed by maybe some snow flakes this weekend. his details in the seven-day

forecast coming up so

good morning. welcome back to wusa9. coming up on 5:15 this tuesday morning. this is the best day of the week. that's what howard says. >> a little breezy this morning but temperatures in the 50s, low to mid-50s for highs. that's about 10 degrees above average. so nothing wrong with that it's

also mardi gras. nothing wrong with that. >> celebrate here. >> we're going to have a better weather day here than in new orleans. they're watching rain. not the prettiest. you're looking at a live shot of bauer upon street at 4:15 local time. >> kind of clearing out from what we saw earlier but it will be jam-packed in just a few more hours. >> people taking the nap before they get to the revelry of mardi gras there. >> is that live? >> that's live. >> that's a lot of people for this early in the morning. >> at midnight tonight, the line of forces will come down and clear out this and lent will begin. here we go. we're looking at the forecast today where we've got temperatures which may be milder than what we're showing right now. the colder air is trying to come in on the brisk westerly winds but the sunshine obviously will counter that some. if not 49, maybe 52, 53 with

highs in the low to mid-50s this afternoon as the winds come down. -- calm down. wind advisory out west till 10:00. gusts 45 or more. we're still seeing gusts in petersburg, west virginia near the 40 mile an hour range. 30 up in hagerstown. we're gusting 28 right now in d.c. temperatures have stayed in the 40s. it's 44 for reston and bethesda. bowie 45. annapolis 46. dumfries, your winds are a little lighter so you got down to 40 this morning while waldorf checking in with 45. outside good visibility, clear skies this morning. national 49. with the winds out of the northwest at 15, it feels more like 43. so a little bit of a windchill. you need a jacket. cold air, there's some in the rockies. temperatures in the teens from casper to denver. nothing arctic cold. that's the problem, snow lovers. we have a system coming out of new mexico into texas. this thing is going to track across the southern u.s., bringing rain. you see the rains in texas near the red river valley. all this rain in the south. this is the concern for mardi

gras that the rain is going to be close. if it lifts far enough north, maybe it won't be too bad a dai. atlanta looks wet. as the system brings the moisture back to us tomorrow. we just don't have a lot of cold air to work with. we'll have enough. north and west of town may pick up an inch, maybe two at the outside and perhaps a tiny bit more in the mountains but the clouds will increase by tomorrow morning. here come a shower or two midday, especially in the mountains we're looking at snow here in the afternoon. here we are at 5:00. notice the rain-snow line generally north and west of d.c. as you head out past the blue ridge there, past route 15. then in the evening hours, a little bit of snow. this thing is pretty much gone by midnight with anywhere from a trace to perhaps an inch, top two at the most. 53 today if not 55, 56. a bit breezy in the morning. tonight we're in the 30s. tomorrow a yellow alert for the afternoon rain, nighttime snow, 44. by thursday and friday, both look like decent days, temperatures in the upper 40s.

over the weekend colder air returns and later saturday, saturday night, go have a snow threat but the only question is, there will be a storm but will it form close enough to us to give us a problem or will it be off shore enough and won't be a big deal. that's what we don't know yet. let's go over to monika with traffic. police have been telling me about this accident involving an over turned produce truck. it's on the westbound side of route 32 ramp to get on to route 29 right here. let's take a live look from our chart camera. you can see that traffic is right here squeezing by on the left side. all the equipment is on the scene. what i'm told is again that it was a produce truck, some cleanup maybe involved. it is overturned. no injuries there so that's some good news. again, the cleanup and uprighting that tractor-trailer may take some time so you might want to go ahead and take 95 as your alternate route this morning. i'll keep you posted and stay on the phones with those people as well. let's go back over to 270

southbound. no problems to report here in rockville. we're looking good as you head down to the point where the lanes divide. and one more live look, this time in springfield, northbound on 95. no issues on to 395. andrea and mike? >> thank you, monika. it will be easier for many nationals fans to watch the big games on tv this season. >> we're excited about t. we'll explain that. plus, georgetown battles marquette for sole possession of second place in the big east on the line. highlights coming up next in sports. at 5:19, we want to take another look at the question on facebook. according to yahoo,.com, doing this will cost the afternoon person $2,000 by the end of the year. is it a, pumping gas, b, throwing away food, or c, eating out? >> our facebook friend matt wrote wow, it's got to be b, throwing away food because c and a way higher good good thinking, matt. log on to the wusa9 facebook fan page, leave your

5:22. clear skies, breezy overnight that's why temperatures are still in the 40s. as we go through the morning, we'll see temperatures again 40s, perhaps a few upper 30s northwest of town. one thing the clouds, there are none. a sunny day today. temperatures back in the low to

mid-50s for highs. andrea and michael, back to you. good morning, everybody. say it ain't so. the washington wizards are streaky. heading into last night's game, they held eight straight opponents under 100 points. they had a winning record since jon wall -- john wall returned to the lineup. the wiz visiting milwaukee. once again wall having a great game of double, double, 14 points, 10 rebounds but he wasn't the only one. bradley beale back from a wrist injury. in all four guys with double doubles last night. wizardses win their fourth in the row for the first time in season. jt3 and the hoyas hosting marquette. georgetown capitalized defense scoring 24 points off 19 turnovers. also a big night for porter, 21 points, 7 rebounds. the hoyas win their sixth straight game. they move into a tie for second

in the big east. this is one of the most anticipated seasons for the washington nationals and we here at wusa9 are excited to be in the middle of it all. we partnered with the mid- atlantic sports network and the nationals and we'll air 20 of their games, including opening day. our general manager says this is a win-win for everybody, especially the fans. opening day april 1. they host the miami marlins. that will do it for your morning sports. i'm kristen berset. have a great day. still ahead, we preview the president's state of the union address. that's coming up. >> plus, why the red light cameras in one local jurisdictions are sending out a lot more tickets. it's 5:24. here's monika with a traffic update. >> howard county police on the scene of this accident on the ramp westbound 32 to northbound 29. it's an overturned truck. the ramp is now blocked. you'll want to aye-95 as your -- i-95 as your alternate

route. i'll have details in about three

good morning. welcome back to wusa9. i'm andrea roane. happy mardi gras. >> it's party time. you have any cake left? >> we ate it all. >> crazy yesterday. >> we can do a cleanse today. >> good morning, monika. >> good morning. >> too much information. howard, take it away. weather wise, a pretty good day. breezy this morning but we're going to have sunny skies and temperatures above average. you know, we've got a little mardi gras going on here in d.c. this morning. here's a look at your day planner with temperatures in the 40s right now. they'll be in the upper 40s and low 50s at least this afternoon. we're starting off at such a

high jumping point i may be raising temperatures here by noon only because with the sunshine out, if the cold air doesn't come in quickly enough, we're not going to be 53. we'll be 56. got a couple of clouds off to the south. some to the north but right in between is where we're sitting this morning with generally clear skies. we talked about the winds. you probably heard them banging things around last night. they're still gusting over 40 in petersburg. near 40 in cumberland. gusts to 28 here in d.c. and 24 in gaithersburg. the temperatures have fallen to the low 40s in cumberland. the winds were lighter like the pax river naval air station. 39. it's 46 in annapolis and 43 in theseburg. so pretty quiet weather wise today. hopefully traffic is following the same lead. here's monika with more. with the exception of one big incident, otherwise things are actually looking pretty good. let's start off with that incident. it's been going on for half an hour now, overturned truck on the ramp from westbound route 32 to get on to northbound route 29 right here in the columbia area. we'll go to our traffic camera

and show what you it looks like live. i'm be on the phone with howard county police as well to figure out what to do here and how long it will be. let's go to our camera so we can show everybody what it looks like. on the westbound side of route 32 here at 29. right now they're letting you squeeze by on the left side. i still think you should maybe consider i-95 instead. this may cause some delays as the cleanup and uprighting the tractor-trailer may take some time. let's go to another maryland camera. no problems on 270 at monday toes road. you'll find it -- montrose road. you'll find it bunching up. a last live look in virginia northbound 395 at duke street. >> thank you, monika gz tonight president obama heads to capitol hill to deliver the state of the union address. >> the white house aides say the speech is going to sound like some of the things the president said on the campaign trail. >> exactly with a strong emphasis, though, on the economy. this even though much of president obama's agenda since his inauguration has centered on gun control and immigration

reform. >> there's no pivot here. the president's principle preoccupation since he ran for this office beginning in 2007 has been what we need to do to make our economy work for the middle class. >> florida senator marco rubio is going to have the republican response. he is expected to stress how smaller government would benefit the middle class. kentucky senator rand paul will deliver a response for the tea party. jessica doyle will have more on the state of our economy coming up in about four minutes. we could learn more later this week about plans to try a virginia man accused in a mass shooting. a hearing for christopher spate has been scheduled for this friday, charged with killing eight people at his home three years ago, including his sister, brother-in-law and their two children. his trial was originally scheduled for last june but postponed indefinitely so attorneys could get more evaluations of his mental health. any more speed tickets

lately? there's a new warning for drivers in rockville. the city's new red light cameras are now crieghting drivers who stop -- citing drivers who stop for a light but go across the line. drivers face a $75 fine for doing it. aaa says the change in camera equipment and vendor caused the tickets to double last year from 8600 citations in 2011 to nearly 18,000 in 2012. we continue to follow breaking news this morning from college park, maryland. that's where police are investigating a deadly shooting and a fire at the same home on 36th avenue. wusa9 reporter delia goncalves is live at the scene with the very latest. good morning, delia. what more do we know about this? >> reporter: good morning, andrea. a whole lot more information. we have been on the scene for some time, police not giving us much information, just calling it a death investigation. in the last few mint, julie parker, the head -- few minutes, julie parker, the head of the public relations office

said police call this a murder- suicide. a media briefing will happen momentarily. we're here at 36th road, about a block away from this active scene we're told which is down this dead end road here on 36th avenue. let's take a look at some video shot a short time ago when the scene first unraveled around 1:00 a.m. police are not telling us a whole lot of information but we can tell you what we have learned. three people were shot. it started with a fire around 1:00. one victim was found in front of the house. another victim we're told in the back of the house. police again confirming this is now a murder-suicide investigation. we're told it is a very active scene. investigators searching in and outside of that house for additional clues. we're hoping that we will have

more information for you. julie parker with prince george's county police is expected to be here. we will pass along information. we know we first learned about this as students did from college park over at the university of maryland. they received a text alert around 1:15, alerting them of this shooting off campus here on 36th avenue. police now confirming several hours after the investigation began that we are dealing with a murder-suicide. much more information in a half- hour. back to you. >> we look forward to that lots happening there with that breaking news story. 5:34 now. time for another your money report. >> jessica doyle is here with a closer look at the state of our economy. jess? >> that's right. of course we have the president's state of the union address tonight. big topics on the agenda, immigration, gun control, peace in the middle east, climate change among others but the white house is signaling the core of the speech will focus on ways to boost the economy and job growth. a lot of folks want the president to do just that.

a quinnipiac university poll out monday shows 35% of registered voters are most interested in hearing ideas about the economy. the federal deficit came in second with 20%. the numbers suggest that americans simply do not feel like the recent economic gains the nation has been seeing is actually coming to their doorstep. more than 50% said they thought the economy is still in a recession. 79% describe the economy as not so good or poor. analysts expect the president's job ideas that we're going to hear tonight will be repackaged versions of proposals he's made during his first term. aides say there will be some new initiatives too so we'll be watching for that. of course the backdrop of this address is the march 1 deadline for averting automatic across- the-board spending cuts known as sequester. lawmakers want to push it back for a second time to create space for a larger reduction plan. we'll be watching for new ideas because we certainly would like to hear some. >> some are saying it's going to be a extension of the state

of the union and the election has consequences and other people are hoping for more bipartisanship. it will be interesting. >> that's a big hope. it's not new orleans or mow he beale but -- mobile but d.c.'s tradition takes place today. thage pancake races. they'll flip pancakes as they race. the winning team gets the coveted golden skillet top prize. pancakes contain many of the ingredients christians often gave up during lent for 40 days before easter which starts tomorrow. >> that's really cute. we have lots of canines coming up in this half-hour. first the annual westminster kennel club dog show us for. >> there's the amazing story of one group that's saving dogs and combat veterans by pairing them together back in today's

welcome back. 5:39. your weather first on this tuesday morning. it's cool out here but not terribly cold. it's a little breezy still. we're going to have a nice day for february as temperatures shoot into the 50s. in fact, this morning we're in the 40s, a little breezy. we'll be in the low to mid-50s in most areas this afternoon with the winds out of the west at 10 to 15. a sunrise coming up at 7:03. inside in a few minutes we'll talk about a system for tomorrow that could bring us a wintry mix and colder weekend ahead. right now inside to monika with timesaver traffic. ongoing cleanup of an overturned truck in columbia, westbound on route 32, ramp to northbound route 29. you can still see all that equipment on the scene there. take i-95 instead. i'll have more details coming up in a few minutes. back to you. abeen combing through date's daily deals, e-mails and retailer websites to find you deep discounts on this tuesday morning. this is the way to do virginia wineries. pay $240 and get a four-hour wine tour from up to six people

in a chauffeured suv. this trip takes you to loudoun and middleburg vineyards. you're going to find this deal with voyager executive sedans, transportation on gilt city. you're getting 40% off. how about new york style pizza and frozen custard? pay 14 bucks, get $39.95 to spend at frozen dairy bar and boardwalk pizza in falls church, virginia. this saves you 55% off. and tomorrow for valentine's day, denny's wants you to fall in love with its brand new coffee. they're handing out free cups of joe and denny's tells us the giveaway runs from 6:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. if you have an offer you've seen or our' local merchant with a deal for our viewers, i would love to hear from ow facebook. -- >> from you on facebook. >> thank you. thanks for bringing up pizza, jess. 5:40 now. it's our facebook question of the morning time. let's check it out. according to yahoo.com, this

will cost us, the average person, $2,000 by the end of the year. is it a, pumping gas, b, throwing away food, or c, eating out? >> wusa9 facebook friend jacqueline smith wrote c, eating out, the joy of dinner dates. >> log on to our facebook page. we'll have the answer in about an hour from now. stunning announcement from the vatican. speculation is building on who might replace pope benedict. we'll talk about some possible candidates coming up. the ravens have their turn. now it's the canines super bowl. we'll have the results from nine one of the westminster dog show and there are some local competitors. >> at 5:41, let's see who's celebrating a birthday today. february 12.

wusa9 morning editor larry would like to wish his daughter a happy 17th birthday. >> we join in that, too. >> if it's your birthday, have a great

hello and welcome back to wusa9. it is 5:45. howard is here. lots to talk about, including an ever changing forecast. we're always on a roller coaster. >> especially in february, we're still battling winter still hanging on. down south things are warming up a little bit. you have more energy to work with in the atmosphere and there are -- and the bigger storms we've gotten have been february into march. we're not talking a big storm but a little storm coming across the region wednesday,

wednesday night bringing rain and perhaps a little bit of snow in a few areas. here's a look at your forecast. it's going to be a nice day with sunshine. we've had gusts 30 plus, even 40 plus in the mountains. we'll see lighter winds this afternoon. as temperatures get back. these numbers might be just a hair on the low side. we could be instead of 53 action perhaps 55, 56 -- 53, perhaps 55, 56. we have wind advisories still till 10:00 out towards areas in the blue ridge and shenandoah valley. some of the gusts and elevations will especially be in the 40, 45 mile an hour range, maybe even topping 50. i jumped that too fast of the let's go back. 41 in petersburg. 28 here in d.c. still gusting 30 in hagerstown. cumberland, you're having gusts near 40 miles an hour right now. the winds will come down as we get into the later morning and afternoon. 44 in reston and round hill. haymarket down to 40. that's one of our colder spots with 46 in laurel, college park, and crofton this morning.

upper marlboro, a comfortable 48. outside good visibility here. got a temperature of 49 at reagan national with a windchill of 43 this morning. the humidity, boy, it's low, only 41%. we have mild air working all the way up toward us. the carolinas down south. colder temperatures but nothing horribly cold. there's some chill in the central and northern rockies but the arctic air is generally bottled up in canada right now. the problem us for, if you're a snow lover like me, we want to get some snow. we just don't have a lot of cold air. enough cold air for snow in new mexico and parts of the texas panhandle and oklahoma. this pressure is moving east. look at all the moisture in texas, louisiana. could abwet mardi gras -- could be a wet mardi gras in the carolinas. as it heads toward us tomorrow afternoon, that's when our rain chances will saturday to go up. today you're looking at the futurecast. sunny through 6:00. then tonight clouds roll in toward tomorrow morning so we start clear to partly cloudy. then in the afternoon some rain

is going to develop with snow, especially the evening out along the i-81 corridor. some coming across us maybe 5 to 10. a trace to an inch, possibly two on the high side there well northwest and west of d.c. is. this stuff will be out of here by midnight. our forecast, today 53. maybe even 55, 56 depending on where we get down to this morning. a bit breezy, though. good day. tomorrow, though, we have a yellow alert for the afternoon rain and a little bit of snow tomorrow night with a high of only 44. so a colder, more raw day on wednesday. thursday and friday look decent. highs will be in the upper 40s, but 30s for the weekend with a chance for some snow late on saturday into saturday night. let's go over to monika samtani now. she's got timesaver traffic. looks like she's got some stuff to tell you. i do. also want to let you know that our delia goncalves has been on the scene of a police investigation east of adelphi road in college park. you want to watch out for some potential road closures in that

area as well and avoid it if you can. looks like it will be there for a while. she'll have more information coming up in a few minutes. in the meantime, i have information for you here in columbia on the westbound side of route 32, ramp to northbound route 29 where there's been an ongoing accident involving an overturned truck. let's take a live look from our sky 9. you can see it on the scene there. equipment has been on the scene for a while but it looks like it's still overturned so it may take a while. in the meantime the ramp is shut down. use i-95 instead if you're one of those that heads westbound on route 32 and avoid this while the cleanup continues there. let's take a live look elsewhere now. no problems to report on 270. it's just going to be your brake lights route 109 to 121 and it seems to be slowing down just a bit here in rockville. back to you. >> thank you, monika. it is 5:49. here's some of the things that are new this morning. today a senate committee is scheduled to vote on president obama's pick for the next secretary of defense.

if it's approved, chuck hagel's nomination will go before the full senate. south carolina republican lindsey graham is promising to block that vote unless he gets more answers about the benghazi attack. well, the fir was flying at west minute -- the fur was flying at the westminster dog show. finalists were picked, four of them, american fox hound in the hound category. that is jewel from georgetown. keep your fingers crossed. another one, a pincher in the toy group. bichon frise in the nonsporting breeze. the old english sheep dog among the herding breeds, three more finalists and then best of show will be chosen tonight. just over 19 hours left to the party in new orleans. you're looking at a live shot at midnight central time. police on horseback will ride through the french quarter to clear out the revelers and hose down the streets and the crews go to work as ash wednesday begins. it was just about 24 hours ago that we got the stunning news pope benedict the 16th --

that pope benedict xvi is resigning at the end of this month. i'm joined by america catholic university kurt martin with more. professor martin, thank you very much for being here with us. as we said yesterday, it was 600 years ago, almost 600 years ago that we had a pope abdicate from his responsibilities. what does that tell us about what's going to happen now? >> actually, it's a little bit longer. 1294, akd indicated out of -- abdicated out of free will. the other one was a little bit forced. we're writing history or yesterday actually. there are a lot of unknown things. we have never gone this -- through this in recent history. >> you were talking about in 2005, you were there in rome camped out, being part-- >> i was in a tv studio. >> but the idea was with pope

john paul ii, he had been ill for many years. the cardinals were aware of what their responsibilities were going to be. we're hearing from most cardinals this took them totally by surprise. >> i think that's correct. he left also the cardinals in rome stunned. only about three people probably knew about it. his own personal secretary and probably also the dean of the college of cardinals. >> how does that affect then the fact that this is almost a shock to them in making the decision on who will be the next pope? >> when john paul ii was ill, basically they knew what was coming. so they had time to prepare, to talk, to look at the challenges and to look at candidates, possible candidates. that is now not the case. yes, of course, people have been looking at the pope-- >> we're going to put up a list of some of those being considered. is age going to be a factor? this pope was 78 when he was

being considered, very old, most cardinals have to retire after age 80. will age be a factor in the decision? >> it might or might not be. the reason i say it might not be, the pope has now resigned. in other words, he has done something that nobody thought of in the past. well, they speculated about it but never thought it could clearly happen. when they elected him, one of the factors could be they elected an older pope because he wouldn't last as long. among the challenges the next pope will face is the evangelization and being able to reach out and address others and of course the major concern, a worldwide among catholics is still adequately addressing the sex abuse scandal and the protection of children in the future. professor kurt martens, thanks very much for being here with us. we'll continue to follow this story. a former white house speech

writer weighs in on what we can expect from tonight's state of the union address. that's coming up. >> and in today's hero central, how man's best friend is bringing best friends scared by war back to life. jessica? >> thanks, andrea. super size surprise for valentine's day. i'll tell you about a hot trend that will take your sweety's breath away. that's coming up at 6:10. good

it's a disturbing reality that affects so many members of our military. suicides among men and women. in recent years more troops have died at their own hands than have died in combat. >> staggering statistics. sometimes a companion who doesn't say anything is exactly what a combat veteran needs. jc hayward salutes an organization that's lowering the military suicide rate one dog at a time. >> unconditional love. he doesn't answer. i can tell him anything. i don't have to worry about it being repeated. >> reporter: when raymond got out of the military, he developed post-traumatic stress disorder and wanted to commit suicide. four years ago he learned about companions for heroes, a program that led him to his best friend myer, an akita shepherd mix who gave him a new lease on life. >> i've been to school, served in the military but there was a dark side of me that no one could touch. i wouldn't let anyone in. >> reporter: but myer has been able to break through.

companions for heroes matched animals who face death because they don't have a home with veterans, active military and first responders. so far there's been over 140 perfect matches. >> it's the best work i have ever done in my life. it's a compilation of everything i've done because what you are doing is you are saving two lives at once. >> reporter: the adoptions are free and the new owner is able to get financial aid and access to a professional dog trainer to make sure the pet's health and behavior are compatible. >> our founder had such a wonderful idea from his own experience to pair veterans and shelter pets for mutual healing. it works. >> reporter: he never thought a four-legged animal would mean so much in his life. when i met them, it worked for me. >> reporter: founder david sharp is an air force veteran. three years ago he spoke to us when the organization was first started. >> there was a time where i wanted to take my own life and

she walked in, a little puppy that she was. she walked in and licked my face. >> reporter: today myer not only touches crook's life but he's an important part of the entire family. >> my father hated dogs but he loved myer. he's been there for my -- when my granddaughter was born, two grand daughters now since myer has been around. >> reporter: jc hayward, wusa9. >> companion for heroes does not receive government support so of course they can use donations. if you're interested to try to get one of these dogs, shoe fill out an on-- shoe fill out an online application. for more information, click on jchayward.com. good morning. i'm andrea roane. thanks for joining us. i'm mike hydeck. monika is here and will have traffic momentarily. >> howard is here and a gorgeous day on tap. >> breezy this morning but sunny skies, unlike some of the